Not in the Way We Planned
by LunarUmbreon
Summary: Shane is setting off on a journey like everyone else. However, he never expected to get caught up in half of what he was involved in. AU.
1. The Kanto Post

Chapter 1: The Kanto Post 

One morning, Shane Evan Ocaro stood near the outskirts of Cinnabar Villiage, taking it in one last time. Today would be his last day here for, well, he didn't know how long it would be. His light blue eyes then settled on Cinnabar Gym, next to the inactive volcano. Blaine was a nice guy amd he would surely miss those talks they had together over his gym matches and Shane's life.

As you could guess, Shane was due to start his training today. He was nervous about leaving his hometown, and his mother. She didn't seem comfortable about Shane leaving her, but never stated it. Shane noticed this, and figured she didn't want to hold him back, even if a part of her wanted to. She just didn't want to lose him, like she lost his father.

Shane's father, well, that was a story in itself. He remembered the times when he was there for both of them. He did everything that a father and husband was supposed to do. It was tough with his desk job, but he always managed to find time to share with them. One day, however, when Shane was five, he left for work and never came back. Shane, being a five-year-old, didn't understand. He always thought that his daddy would come back to him. As he got older, however, he realized that he would never come back. From that day, he then had to rely on their memories of him. It wasn't much, but at least he had something to remember him by.

Shane snapped out of it and started walking toward Northern Docks. A couple of years ago, new legislation was passed stating that trainers had to take classes in order to acquire a license. Their given reason for the law was an attempt to cut down on abuse, and trainers who didn't have a clue what they were doing. Shane personally didn't think it worked that well. He still heard pokémon abuse reports on the news. Besides, he ran into a clueless trainer yesterday who, for the life of himself, couldn't figure out how to enlarge a pokéball. On the other hand, it was the government they were talking about, and their ideas lately weren't that great.

With that reflection, Shane crossed over to the docks, and sat down in the grass. Their teacher told them to meet here so they could obtain Pokémon to begin their journey with. She, however, to Shane's annoyance, refused to give out any details as to how they were getting their starters.

"Shane, there you are," said another voice, a female one. Shane snapped out of it and came face-to-face with his friend, Terra Anderson. Terra was his only friend around here, but he didn't mind that much. She was always there for him, but now, they were both training. Things would be different. He wasn't even sure if they'd see one another again. He then took the time to look into Terra's green eyes. As blue met green, he thought about their first encounter. It was a game of chance. However, he was glad they found the right cards there. Before Shane could reply, however, their instuctor entered the area.

"Good morning class," began Mrs. White, their instructor. "Now, today, as you all passed, you are going to board this ship to Pallet Town. At Pallet, you will get an opportunity to acquire a starter of your own, and register for whatever you want to do with it. You can even register for multiple things. Now, this trip will take a few hours, so I want you to be on good behavior. I wish you all luck during your trials.

"Shane! What do you say about exploring the ship?" asked Terra, putting down her backpack. Shane followed suit with his pack.

"That's a great idea, Terra! Do you think they sell copies of _The Kanto Post_ on here? I forgot to pick one up earlier," replied Shane. _The Kanto Post_ was, obviously, Kanto's newspaper. Shane, for some odd reason, always read the thing. Terra rolled her eyes at that.

"Honestly! Not The Post again! You're a kid. You don't have to read those boring articles. Leave it up to the adults, Shane," replied Terra, exasperated at his behavior. Shane sighed. Terra always had similar reactions whenever he mentioned a newspaper, whether it was _The Kanto Post_ or The Cinnabar Connection.

Shane ignored Terra's remark, and grabbed some spare change out of his backpack. It should be enough to purchase _The Kanto Post _if they did sell it on here. Looking back at Terra, he noticed her disapproving look at the paper deal, but he opened the door anyway.

Shane and Terra started their exploration of the ship. There wasn't that much on there to see, however. Other members of their class were talking with one another over their journeys and the starter test, but Shane and Terra didn't join in. They did find a gift shop on board where Terra just had to buy a necklace with a Suicune pendant. Terra always liked Suicune for some reason. It was her favorite legendary. Shane, by all means, always liked them, but his favorite was the phoenix known as Ho-oh. Later in the trip, Shane came across a newspaper machine with The Kanto Post in it, and didn't hesitate in putting his change in the machine, to Terra's annoyance.

Overall, the ship wasn't too exciting, so the two friends soon found a place to sit down. Shane, becoming bored rather quickly, unfoloded The Kanto Post, and started to see if there was anything worth reading about. However, an article from the front page immediately grabbed his attention.

**TR attacks increase. People warned to be on guard**

_Team Rocket attacks and encounters have been increasing in the past couple of months. Team Rocket, also known as TR, is a criminal group that vandalizes, steals, and goes against our very government. With this increase in attacks, trainers are warned to be careful. You might never know if an approaching trainer is in the group or not._

_"We are doing all we can to capture any Team Rocket members," stated Kanto Prime Minister, Daniel Reich. " We have tighter security in places most likely to be hit, and are giving out free brochures with prevention information."_

_The brochures in question can be picked up for free at any Pokémon Center. They give general information on how to avoid being attacked, and what to do if you do end up meeting a Rocket member. Pokémon trainers are advised to pick these up._

_"We have set-up a hotline number where any Rocket member sightings should be reported," said Kanto Police Leader, Fred Sanders. "It's an annonymous hotline, and anybody who sights a Rocket should call it with information on where and what they were doing."_

_Citizens are especially warned to avoid the leader of the bunch. He goes by the name Giovanni, though we doubt that's his real name. He owns a vicious Persian, and any sightings of him should be reported as well. The hotline number is...  
_

Shane sighed at that. Now he had to worry about Team Rocket members during his training. He had been keeping up with their sightings and there definitely was an increased amount. It was weird though. Why would their leader suddenly decide to increase the attacks? People usually had motives for those things. With that thought, Shane skimmed through the rest of the articles, read a few, but nothing on specific attacks yet. There was some new legislation for tighter security at airports, train stations, and government buildings, however. He then finally put his paper down.

"Well, Terra, it looks like we have to be careful during our training. Team Rocket encounters and attacks have been increasing lately," said Shane, eager to start up a conversation.

"Yeah. Just please do me a favor and don't get overly paranoid about this. You always get paranoid over things, and it's not good," replied Terra, slightly annoyed at his paranoia. That was true. Shane knew he could be paranoid at times.

"I'll try, but you can't stop acting a certain way automatically. Just try to avoid those Rockets, right? If you run into one, at least you'll have a pokémon or two. They will protect you. Anyway, any ideas on how we're getting our first pokémon?" asked Shane.

"Ideas? Shane, you should know by now that Professors let you choose and hand them out. Everybody knows that," replied Terra, disbelivingly. She was shocked that the newspaper reader didn't know that.

"Nope, Terra. It used to be that way. New legislation passed the Senate about six months ago to ban Professors from handing out starters. Any starter distribution is now handled by the Kanto Federal Government. It's very weird, actually. Ever since this Reich guy took over, the government started to take unprecedented control over the league. Not right away, of course. He waited until three years ago, and this is his ninth year in office. It's very strange, as the government, until Reich, never passed legislation concerning the Kanto League. They always let the Elite Four take control of all league matters, until now anyway," explained Shane. It was very weird, and Shane could think of no reason why Reich was doing this.

"Shane, you really need to get a life. Not only do you read the paper, but you actually remember what was in the articles. That paper has a bad influence on you. I think we need to seperate you from your pocket money," replied Terra, as if she didn't even hear Shane's response. Knowing Terra, she probably tuned out after hearing about the legislation. Shane, however, really didn't have a comment, and was spared for inventing one, as the intercom announced that they now arrived in Pallet Town. Shane sighed, packed the newspaper in his backpack, and left the room with Terra behind him.


	2. Starters and Preparations

Chapter 2: Starters and Preparations 

Shane and Terra exited the ship with the rest of the class, and scattered around their instuctor. The majority of the students were chatting amongst one another. The topic, of course, being the same thing that Shane and Terra discussed earlier: starter pokémon. They were having a group discussion over how they were being distributed. A whistle then sounded, and everyone quieted and turned toward the instructor.

"Now, everyone, we have arrived in Pallet Town," stated the teacher. Shane rolled his eyes. Everyone in the class figured that one out. "We will walk toward the distribution area together. Don't get lost." The class nodded, and started following the teacher, continuing their discussion.

"I think it's some kind of analysis test," suggested a girl with brown pigtails.

"Na. We'll probably get to choose a starter from Professor Oak," said Jake. Shane heard that comment and couldn't help but roll his eyes. Didn't Jake bother reading the paper?

"Yeah. You're probably right," said a boy with black hair. Shane sighed once more, and decided to ask Terra that question.

"Terra, does anyone else around here actually bother to keep up with current events?" asked Shane, curiously, but annoyed with these impossible scenarios around him.

"I have no idea, but I very much think you're the only one," replied Terra. Shane sighed once again. Maybe they should learn to read the paper, or at least watch PNN on the television. It would only help them out if they did. His thinking, however, was interrupted by the arrival at the place, and the teacher entering, coming out later with an official.

"Good Morning, Cinnabar Children. Now, today is your lucky day as you will receive a starter of your own. Just remember everything you learned in class on your journey, however. Now, your teacher has kindly given me a class roster. I'll call you up here, and you can then tell me what type of pokémon you want. I'll grab the correct bin, and you'll randomly choose a ball from there. After that, please proceed to the next table with the nice official to collect our other items. Have a good journey." Shane didn't like these officials for some reason. He just wanted this over with.

"Terra." stated the official. Terra gulped, and slowly made her way toward the official. She didn't like being first, but her last name did start with an A. Why did people always have to go alphabetical by last name? "Now, Terra, what type do you like?"

"Any type. I don't really care that much." The official nodded and brought out a bin from behind the table. The label on the bin read RANDOM. Terra sighed, and put her hand in.She dug really deep, looking for a lucky ball. She finally found one that felt good, and withdrew her hand, ball intact.

"Very good. Don't send it out now. I don't want everyone else distracted. Just move to the next table." Terra nodded.

"Jake," stated the official in a bored tone. Jake grinned and came up. Shane didn't really like Jake that much, and Jake didn't like him. "Now, what type do you like?"

"I want a dragon type," exclaimed Jake. The class looked at him in utter shock. The official sighed, and turned toward him.

"I'm sorry, uh," the official glanced down at the list,"Jake, but you can't get a dragon type from us. You see, dragons are very dangerous pokémon that could severely injure or kill you. They are very tough for expert trainers to handle. For a newbie, it would be near impossible. As such, please choose another type. Oh, and no Dark either, so you're narrowed down to fifteen. Dark pokémon are very dangerous and deadly as well." Jake frowned. He did not like this dumb official and these even dumber rules.

Shane frowned as well. He liked dark-types for some reason. There was nothing dangerous and deadly about dark-types in general. True, they could be dangerous if you provoked them, but you could just as easily provoke a non dark-type. Shane really didn't like this government's dumb regulations. Well, he'd have to stick with his second favorite type in that case.

"Fine, then. I'll go with a fire-type," said Jake. It was very clear that he was annoyed at his first choice being denied. The official, however, either didn't notice, or chose to ignore it. He pointed out the fire bin, and Jake rummaged around in it for a ball, and finally clasped it in his hand. Shane sighed. It was clear to him why Jake wanted fire. He was hoping for a growlithe so he could evolve it, and try to scare Shane with it.

The reasoning behind that motive was simple. Once, when Shane was around four, his paremts were out, and he was bored. He decided to wander into his neighbor's backyard, only to have her Arcanine attack him. He came out of it with third-degree burns, and a broken arm. When Jake learned of this, he kept on teasing Shane about it.

"Shane," stated the official after calling more names. Shane sighed and proceeded forward. "Now, kid, what type would you like?"

"Electric," replied Shane. He tried not to let his disappointment at the lack of dark-types show. He would just have to catch one or two of those later. Besides, electric was his second general favorite, and would work for a starter. He, like those before him, then rummaged for a bin, his hands searching for a lucky ball. He finally settled on one, and clasped it, joining the line at the next table.

"Hello, kid. Now, you just have to take one of the following items. Make sure to hold onto them. They are all very important for different reasons. You don't want to lose them," explained the official in a monotonous way. Shane groaned. He just stated the obvious. That, and he hated being called kid. He was sixteen, after all. Besides, kid was also the term for a baby goat. He wasn't a goat.

The first item was a trainer handbook which Shane grabbed and tossed in his pack. He'd organize the thing later. He wasn't even sure if he'd use that book. The second one was that TR Prevention brochure that he read about in the ship earlier. Knowing the government, they were both filled with very obvious stuff, but maybe he'd skim through them if he got bored.

The next item was merely a box with trainer supplies in them. Shane, too, put it in his pack for organizing later. The last and next thing, however, was the most important. Their trainer licenses were there, and freshly printed and laminated. Shane found his and took a closer look at it.

It had his name on it, along with a very bad picture. However, all the other cards had bad pictures, so it didn't bug him that much. There were some blank areas on the back with lines that Shane had no idea what it was for. There was also more room on the front for things, but go figure. The government was nuts.

"Terra, let's go see who we have as starters!" said Shane to Terra. Terra nodded, and removed her red-and-white ball. She threw it out, and a creature appeared. It was a reddish feline with a white underbelly. Her eyes opened, revealing two hazel eyes that looked at Terra in a trusting way.

"Skitty," she called out, curiously approaching Terra. Terra grinned and bent down to pet her. The young Skitty relaxed under her touch, and began to purr.

"It's so cute, isn't it Shane?" said Terra, picking Skitty up into her arms. The curious Skitty playfully swatted at some of her hair. Terra grinned at that. "It looks like I'll have to buy you a string to swat at, huh?" she asked, jokingly.

"Yeah, it is cute. A string is a good idea, by the way. These starters are still pretty young," replied Shane. He then threw his ball on the ground, curious as to what it was. A green canine with some yellow markings emerged.

"Electrike," he called, staring at Shane. Shane grinned and bent down to get a closer look. He didn't know too much about them, except that they were electric-types, and not found in Kanto.

Terra put down Skitty, and Skitty approached Electrike, curious at the new face. Electrike wagged his small tail, and approached Skitty until they were nose to nose. Electrike sniffed the Skitty's bark. "Trike," he called out. Electrike then playfully pounced on Skitty. Skitty pounced back and they started a game.

"They're so cute together," said Terra. "We have great starters. However, these two are native to Hoenn. Why would the government hand out Hoenn starters? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it's strange."

"And you accuse me of reading the papers too much?" questioned Shane. "You're right, it is strange. I don't know why for sure or anything, I can't read their minds. Maybe they just felt like being nice, but there could be more to it," explained Shane, sharing his theories. "So,. what's the plan now, Terra?"

"Well, we should probably go shopping together. I need to buy some things for my Skitty, and stuff my mother and father forgot to pack for me. I suppose we will both head our seperate ways tomorrow. Can we meet up later, when we reach Virdian and Pewter though? It would still be nice to get together once in a while," said Terra, explaining her idea.

"Of course, Terra. My mom also forgot important things, and I have to reorganize my backpack. She put everything in the wrong compartments," replied Shane.

"More like she overlooked your secret compartments. Anyway, let's see what items these league officials gave us," replied Terra. She pulled out the kit and groaned. "Two potions and two antidotes! That's it? They didn't even give us any balls. They're mad."

"Well, it looks like we have more to buy then originally planned," replied Shane.

Shane and Terra recalled Skitty and Electrike and headed to the supermarket. It sold varous things. Shane and Terra had to stock up on other pokémon curatives, and pokéballs. Shane found a map of Kanto and handed one to Terra. Terra found a shelf full of pokédexes and called Shane over to take a look.

Shane sighed and choose a black and gold one. Terra went with blue one, and those were added to their purchases. Now, they just needed Pokémon food, and bowls for it, along with toys. They grabbed those, and checked out all their purchases.

After reorganizing his backpack, Shane grabbed his pokédex to take a closer look. He turned it on, and entered his personal information. The thing updated, and Shane decided to record Electrike onto it. Electrike, who was out of his ball, digging a hole in the dirt, looked content with himself. Shane pressed a button, and pointed the dex at Electrike. It was then recorded on, along with information on various aspects.

"Well, Electrike, we might as well turn in now. Let's find a place to sleep, shall we?" asked Shane/ Electrike nodded, but allowed himself to be picked up by Shane, followed by licking his face.

"You really like me, don't you?" he asked him. The Electrike nodded, which Shane thought strange, until he recalled something his dad told him long ago. Pokémon can understand every word you say, but they can't talk back to you directly. Shane, however, figured that he could still figure out Electrike's personality. He was like most young creatures, very curious and carefree. Shane wondered how long it would last, and wondered how he was supposed to explain the concept of battling, let alone if he could even put Electrike through it.

Ir was at that moment that Shane reached the Pallet Pokémon Center and requested the room. The nurse there compiled, and he lay Electrike right down on the bed next to him, and went to sleep.


	3. Encounters and Reactions

Chapter 3 

The next morning, Shane woke up and nudged Electrike awake. The pokémon obliged, and yawned a bit. Shane figured that now was the right time to have their talk. He wasn't sure how much Electrike knew about training, but he figured not too much, knowing the idiotic government, As he couldn't directly translate what Electrike was saying, he basically summarized everything up.

After the whole summary, the little guy seemed a bit confused, but he finally nodded after some thought. Shane couldn't tell what his confusion was about, and he had no way to pinpoint it. He then recalled the guy, and decided to finally head out. Before taking off, however, he inserted more money into the paper machine, and bought another copy of The Kanto Post. He was in such a hurry that he stuffed the thing into his backpack without reading it.

Shane wandered around Pallet for a bit, until he found a signpost showing the way out. Shane was too distracted to notice last night, but the town was rather small. It was bigger then Cinnabar, but still small. He read the signpost, and took the path out of town and toward the route to Viridian City.

Shane entered the route and look around at the surroundings. They should be heading north, but the thing wasn't much of a route. There wasn't even a path! It had trees, fields, and even a stream going through it. Shane stopped there to fill his bottle, and to scrummage through his backpack. Finding his compass, he held it in his right hand. He was going to need it if he didn't become lost in this place.

After some time, a Rattata scurried by and stopped in front of Shane, questioning him, Shane took a look, and noticed it was a purple mouse-like creature with creamish underbelly parts. It was rather cute, and did look like it wanted a battle. Electrike did need some practice after all.

Shane grabbed his ball, hesitating. He threw it to the ground, and the little guy came out, and examined his surroundings. Completely ignoring the Rattata, he jumped onto Shane, and started licking his face again. Shane put him down, but the Electrike still din't notice the Rattata. He was more focused on a Caterpie, and started curiously following it.

"Electrike, listen. It is rather good that you're curious about everything, but this purple rat Pokémon looks like it wants to battle. Are you up to it? You can go explore the fields a bit afterward." asked Shane. Electrike tore his eyes off the Caterpie and nodded.

Electrike faced the Rattata, with Shane behind the Electrike. The Rattata stared down Electrike, and started running toward it. Shane and Electrike just stood there for a bit, never being in a battle before. Shane suddenly seemed to get back into focus.

"Electrike! Move out of its path," commanded Shane. Electrike walked away from the path it was charging into, and Shane rolled his eyes a bit. They were going to have to talk more in detail about this later.

Electrike, to his credit, at least had his focus on the Rattata, and not something else. That was something that sometimes became a problem. "Electrike, see if you can run toward it, and tackle it," stated Shane. Electrike nodded, and ran toward the Rattata. He jumped into the air, preparing to land on it, but the Rattata moved out of his path at the last instant, and Electrike ended up falling on the hard ground. Electrike just lay there. He wasn't knocked out, but he was hurt a little, and didn't feel like getting up. It was actually very minor, since he landed on all four feet, but it made those feet sore. He knew he should be battling, but figured resting wouldn't hurt any.

Rattata, taking advantage of Electrike's hesitation, tackled straight into the Electrike. It barely did anything, due to their sizes, but it was enough for Electrike to get up. He really did not like that tackle. Electrike sighed, and started running toward the Rattata. His head then made contact with its body, and that sent him flying onto the ground. Shane was impressed.

"Nice job, Electrike. It looks like you got it. That was a good practice, but we do need to work on this a bit." Shane sighed, and gave the Electrike a potion. He glanced in the Rattata's position, and was relieved to see that other Rattata were already tending to it. That was good. He didn't want to just leave it there.

He let the Electrike wander around, keeping to his promise of letting him explore the fields some. The routine continued like this for a little while, until they were interrupted again, this time by something more unpleasent. Shane groaned. This was literally the last thing he wanted to deal with right now.

The thing in question was a man who came out into Shane's line-of-vision. He looked sinister, and was even wearing an expression to look it. Shane took one look at the outfit, and recognized it. He read about these people so much in The Kanto Post that he immediately knew who they were.

"Hello there, little kid. I demand that you hand over your Electrike right this instant," said the man. That was the last thing Shane expected. True, it was a Rocket member, but his Electrike was only a new starter. Shouldn't they be after something better?"

"What do you want with me, Rocket?" asked Shane. "I just received this Electrike yesterday. Shouldn't you be after some stronger pokémon?" Shane was utterly curious.

"Don't ask about things you shouldn't be concerned with. Go, my pokémon! Get the Electrike!" He threw his own ball, and a form began to take shape. It enlarged, and started forming into none other then a Sceptile.

"Trike!" cried the Electrike, obvious fear in its voice. It was scared, very scared, and immediately jumped into Shane's arms, shaking all over. The Rocket and Sceptile, however, seemed to care less. If anything, the Rocket looked even happier about this.

"Sceptile! Go get the boy and his Electrike!" The Sceptile seemed to understand, and took off after them. Shane sighed, and began to run, fast. very fast. There was only one thing he could think of to do. Electrike was obviously no match for the Sceptile, even if he wasn't shaking all over.

"HELP! There's a mad Rocket after me, and he sent his Sceptile after me to steal my Electrike. HELP US!" Shane yelled it as fast as he could, and he could of sworn he heard the Rocket curse. At least he was annoying the guy some. That helped a bit, but not much.

"Leave them alone!" sounded an unfamiliar voice, a male. "Go Houndoom!" A black canine came out, its white horns gleaming in the sun. "Houndoom! Attack that Sceptile with Flamethrower. Houndoom nodded, and an orange and yellow flame came out of his mouth, and hit the Sceptile by surprise. The Sceptile looked very shocked at the surprise attack, and slashed the Houndoom, without being told to.

"Sceptile! You're not supposed to do anything unless I tell you to! Tyler! Why do you always disrupt my plans?" screamed the enraged Rocket. Sceptile flinched, but looked proud of itself for slashing the Houndoom anyway.

"Houndoom! Sunny Day!" yelled the other man, Shane assumed it was Tyler. Houndoom closed its eyes, and the sun came more into focus, and began shining even brighter then usual.

"Sceptile, use Slash!" yelled the trainer. Sceptile didn't look happy about being commanded to use the same attack it was yelled at for earlier, but ran toward Houndoom anyway, who managed to jump out of the way that time.

"Houndoom, finish it with Flamethrower!" Houndoom sent out another orange flame from its mouth. The sceptile, still mad with its trainer concerning the Slash, didn't even attempt to dodge the thing. As a result, it fainted.

"You have failed me, Sceptile. Tyler, I will revenge you one of these days." The Rocket kicked the Sceptile, followed by recalling it into the ball. He then took out toward the East.

It was at this moment that Shane got his first look at Tyler. He was average height, and had friendly brown eyes. His reddish hair was waving around, and he did chase off that Rocket. "Thank you, Tyler and Houndoom," said Shane in appreciation. "We were really scared."

"No problem, kid. You did great, Houndoom." Houndoom barked in appreciation, and was recalled by Tyler. "That was a very smart thing you did back there, yelling for help. If it wasn't for your yelling, I wouldn't of ran down here in the first place to help. Anyway, bye. Good luck in the future." Tyler seemed regretful about something, butthen walked away before Shane could ask more.

"Well, Electrike, that was very interesting."


	4. Of Papers and Pidgeys

Chapter 4: Of Papers and Pidgeys 

Shane reached Viridian City without other incidents taking place. That was good, as Shane didn't think he could take more Rocket Members anytime soon. He'd just have to be more careful from now on.

Still, that didn't make much sense. Why would an experienced Rocket Member want to go after some beginner with only an Electrike? Wouldn't they go after targets that could sell for more, like, say, a Dragonite or Venusaur. Shane would think so, but he would never bother finding out how a Rocket's brain worked, unless this was an exception.

Either way, Shane fingered through his pack, and grabbed the map of Kanto. He flipped it over to the back where brief descriptions of each city were listed. He searched for Viridian and read the description.

Viridian City Viridian contains a gym. Despite its location, the gym leader there only accepts challenges if you have the other seven league badges. Viridian's main trainer attraction is the Trainer House, where trainers can both hang out, and battle some of the tougher trainers.

Shane sighed. It was probably a good thing this was the last gym, as Shane could easily see Electrike getting Koed. Shane saw it odd that the description didn't mention the gym type. The absence of the leader's name was understandable as those were always omitted, so the leaders could have some privacy. Either it was an error, or another thing he wasn't aware of, so he let it slide. Besides, it was getting late, and he better get a room at the Center soon.

The next day, Shane got up again, and purchased another issue of The Kanto Post, which was skimmed. Nothing of interest in there. He was just about to put it in his backpack compartment, the one teeming with issues, when a brown bird pokémon grabbed the issue in its talons and hovered about a yard off the ground, as if taunting them.

Shane cursed. That bird took his paper! He grabbed Electrike's ball, and threw it to the ground. "Trike! Electrike!" Electrike was wagging his tail, and actually noticed the Pidgey right away this time. He then focused on the paper in its grasp.

"That's right, boy. We want to battle that Pidgey to take revenge on it for taking my paper. Tackle it," commanded Shane. Electrike nodded, not too sure how to tell Shane that it was just a paper, and he could always put more shiny things in the machine to get another one. Electrike nodded, jumped, and crashed into the Pidgey's back. Bird and canine both crashed to the ground, the paper rolling out of the Pidgey's talons. Pidgey, apparently used to battles, pecked the Electrike, but a spark coming from Electrike went up the Pidgey's beak, and made him immobile.

"What just happened?" asked Shane to nobody, looking at the paralyzed Pidgey. He wasn't expecting an answer, but a girl with pigtails turned up and answered his question anyway. Shane recognized her as being in his classes. She was one of those know-it-all students.

"That would be Static, Electrike's ability," she replied. Shane still looked confused, so she continued. "Every pokémon has an ability, and they work differently. Yours has Static which means that when a pokémon directly attacks Electrike in combat, they have a chance of getting paralyzed, like Pidgey there." The girl, finished with her explanation, left the battle.

Oh. An ability. Shane vaguely remembered the teacher mentioning them, but he usually didn't pay too much attention. Maybe that would of been a good idea after all.

"Ok, Electrike. Hit again, and show it that it can't mess with our papers. Electrike, still worn from the crash-and-tackle, nodded. All he managed to do though was headbutt it, but it was something.

"Ok, then. I guess you can't do much more, but my revenge will now be complete," replied Shane. He grabbed an empty ball from his belt, and threw it at the Pidgey. A beam of red light came out from the ball, and engulfed Pidgey, sucking it in. It closed, and began wobbling. Finally, the ball stopped, and Shane had a Pidgey.

"Electrike, our revenge is complete. Let's head to base." Shane returned Electrike, and rushed them both to the Center. That ability of Electrike's was cool, though. Did Pidgey have an ability too? Shane didn't know, but he might find out. He arrived at the Center, and handed his balls over to the nurse.

"Shane!" said a voice. "How's it going?" Shane turned around and saw Terra. Terra was at least awake more in class then he was. Maybe she had better luck with Skitty's first match, then Electrikes.

"Hi Terra. Actually, it's going pretty bad. The only good thing that happened is that I caught a Pidgey. the bad news is that it took my paper, and its now all muddy. I have to buy a new one. She owes me fifty cents!" Shane replied to Terra.

"Let me get this straight. You're doing bad just because a Pidgey stole your paper? You really need to get a life. Besides, how do you expect a Pidgey to owe you money anyway? It's a pokémon, not a person!" replied Terra, upset at the way he was acting.

"Terra, that's not the main reason why I'm in a bad mood. That is, however, hindering recovery. I got attacked by a mad Rocket member and his Sceptile," replied Shane back at Terra, his bad mood showing.

"Wow! Are you okay from that? Why would a Rocket Member attack a beginner though? Did your paper tell you that?" she curiously asked. Shane sighed.

"Nope, it didn't. However, it could just be one insane Rocket or something. We don't know," replied Shane. "Anyway, are you doing better then me?"

"Yeah. No Rockets for me. I caught a pokémon too, though. It's a Spearow. I still want to find someone who's willing to watch any inactive ones. My parents said they couldn't do it. They wouldn't be able to handle it," said Terra.

"Inactive Pokémon? What are you talking about?" asked a confused Shane.

"Shane, were you sleeping or drawing during that lesson? The inactive ones are those that aren't currently with you. You can only have six with you at a time. As a result, you need someone to take care of the rest of them if you want to capture more then six. Professor Oak used to do it, but he's beem doing it for so many trainers that his place is now too crowded, and we have to fend for ourselves," replied Terra. How could he of forgotten that one article where he declared that he couldn't take anymore trainers?

"I suppose I was, Terra. Well, bye then. See you around, and be sure to call me," said Shane. "You have my cell phone number right?" Terra nodded, and she then took off.

Shane picked up Electrike and Pidgey and sent them out. The Pidgey looked around for a bit and faced Shane. "Pidgey, you owe me fifty cents since I had another paper today. I don't care how you acquire it, but you're going to get some? Do you understand?" asked Shane. Pidgey nodded in response, not wanting to annoy her new trainer.

"Hey, Shane. Do you want a battle?" questioned a voice. Shane turned around and came face-to-face with Jake. He never battled a trainer before., but there was a first for everything. Besides, he wasn't going to refuse a match, especially from Jake of all people.

"You're on, Jake. Send out first, as you're the challenger," stated Shane calmly. Jake scowled, hoping he would forget about that rule.

"Fine then, Shane. This will be a simple one-on-one," said Jake, stating their rules.


End file.
